Ehsan started season 2 of the BCS League just how he would have wanted. Captaining his team to a 7 wicket win over Team Aftab and taking the early lead in the one-day series. It was a dominating display from the Toronto based team who outplayed their opposition for most of the match.

Habibul_fan lead the way with a “man of the match” performance with the bat. It was a swashbuckling performance hitting 80 off just 91 balls, including 5 fours and two sixes. The innings wasn’t completely controlled but most bowlers took the punishment. Naheyan however did beat Habibul_fan on numerous occasions and appeared to have the wood over him. HFan then responded by taking after Radicalsami and dispatched one ball onto the hill at midwicket to bring up the fifty.

He received good support at the top of the order by debutant MasterBlaster, hitting 30 off 34 balls before he tried clearing Naheyan at square leg only to see the ball plucked out of nowhere. Radicalsami got his second wicket shortly after drinks, getting through Mueid’s defences and trapping him LBW. Habibul_fan fell shortly after but by then the damage had been done. Ehsan and Bdmoderator had no trouble chasing down the total of 182. Ehsan did however have a little fun in the middle and get some match practise, hitting 32 of 28 balls. The highlight of his innings would have been clouting the opposition captain over the long on boundary.

Earlier in the day Team Aftab looked set to post an imposing total but inexperience showed as the middle and lower order collapsed. Bdmoderator got Pundit in just the third over of the day, MasterBlaster taking a sharp catch in the slips. But then Asif Rahman and Nasif rebuilt. Shovon13 got a lot of movement from the pitch but the two batsmen conquered this by taking guard outside their crease, meaning they could counteract any away movement and the edges would be less likely to carry. The pair punished anything pull and played the spin duo of Rafiq and Zephaniah with ease until Nasif mistimed a drive and Bourny3 took a classic one handed grab at mid-off.

The wicket brought to end a 70 runs partnership and the old tattered, second hand scoreboard displayed 2/80. Three overs later Asif Rahman brought up the first fifty of the season, brought up with stunning cut off a loose ball by Bourny3. The fifty came up off only 51 balls but the run rate slowed down immediately. Bdmoderator was reintroduced into the attack and the batsmen decided to play him cautiously. AgentSmith could not pick the gaps. Spin then did the trick as Rafiq picked up the valuable wicket of Asif Rahman for a well compiled 68.It was another indication that Team Nafis had done a lot of work in the field over the off-season as Zephaniah covered a lot of ground to hold onto the catch at deep fine leg.

AgentSmith and Tehsin decreased the run rate even more and it called for a more attacking field. Zephaniah was then brought up inside the circle. AgentSmith tried to sweep across the spin and only managed to bottom edge the ball onto his pad. The ball then ballooned up on the legside and Zephaniah took a stunning diving catch. It was his second fine catch of the day and proved that to selectors that he was the best fielder in the competition.

The floodgates then opened as Hasib picked up Sports_fan_Bd cheaply. It was a soft dismissal. SFBD got caught in two minds about where to hit the ball and eventually ended up chipping the ball straight to Mueid at mid on. Team Nafis then experimented with their bowlers, bringing Habibul_fan, Ehsan and Mueid into the attack.

MasterBlaster was the 10th bowler to be used and did the trick straight away, taking a wicket with his first ball of competitive cricket. Chinaman however wasn’t very happy with the decision, claiming that he inside edged the ball onto his pads. Umpire Sanjay Patel would have none of it however, sending Chinaman on his way. From there it got worse, next ball Navarene hit the ball to the right of Shovon13 at cover. Tehsin immediately called no but Navarene was halfway down the pitch, he turned around as Shovon13 produced a direct hit to send the BanglaCricket XI off-spinner back to the pavilion for a first ball duck.

Ehsan decided to stick with his best performing bowlers as they were into the tail and it paid off. The collapse continued as Radicalsami edged a ball to MasterBlaster in the slips off Shovon13, picking up his first one-day wicket and from the other end Bdmoderator caught Naheyan plumb in front trying to play around his pad. It was a sad debut for the young Aftab cricketer, being dismissed for a duck and also remaining wicketless with the ball. It was Bdmoderator’s second wicket and he was looking dangerous, appearing to have gained a yard of pace over the off-season.

Piranha avoided the inevitable hitting a chancy 7 before offering Habibul_fan his first one-day wicket. Tehsin remained not out through all the carnage but only managed 19* and he knows that a lot of work must be done with his team if they are to stand a chance of winning either title this season.

Hats of to Team Nafis who produced a magnificent display of cricket, with disciplined bowling and magnificent fielding they were no match. It appears that Ehsan has targeted bowling as his strength, experimenting with 10 bowlers and restricting the opposition to 181. The big test however will come when the batsmen have to stand up to set a competitive total, will they have the depth of batsmen as they did last year?

MasterBlaster has big shoes to fill, replacing run-scoring machine Unknown, who decided to go back to the UK with his family. On first impression the kid has a lot of potential and could be the genuine all-rounder BanglaCricket have been looking for.

The next game will take place here tomorrow between Team Aftab and Team Nazmul.